Prime Minister Andy Burnham is mourning the death of his father, Roy Burnham, who died in his mid-80s after living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Downing Street confirmed that the Prime Minister has cancelled his official meetings on Monday and Tuesday following his father’s death.
The loss comes only weeks after Mr Burnham spoke publicly about the sadness of his father being unable to understand that his son had become Prime Minister because of the progression of his condition.
Alzheimer’s Meant Roy Could Not Recognise His Son’s Achievement
Before taking office, Mr Burnham described visiting his father in a care home and reflected on what it meant to achieve the highest political position in the country while his father could no longer fully understand what was happening.
“That’s a sadness because he would be proud,” Mr Burnham said in July.
He added that he viewed his appointment as Prime Minister as a family achievement, even though his father was unable to appreciate it because of Alzheimer’s.
“The way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well. A whole family achievement although he doesn’t know it,” he said.
His Father’s Illness Shaped Burnham’s Political Priorities
Roy’s condition has been a deeply personal influence on Mr Burnham’s longstanding campaign for reform of the social care system.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly spoken about the experience of seeing his father receive care and the pressures faced by staff working within what he considers a failing system.
After becoming Labour leader, Mr Burnham said his personal experience had strengthened his determination to address the problems affecting social care.
“My dad has Alzheimer’s and you see what the staff have to put up with. It’s not their fault. The system’s broken. You can’t leave social care like this,” he said.
In a major speech after becoming Prime Minister, he also pledged to act on behalf of “my dad and the millions like him” who face difficulties within the existing care system.
Roy Was Also Unaware of His Son’s Position on Electoral Reform
Mr Burnham had previously revealed that his father was unaware that he had changed his position on proportional representation, an issue Roy had apparently encouraged his son to support.
“I don’t think he’s ever realised, because of his condition, that I’ve come round to PR, which is one of his missions – to get me to accept that,” the Prime Minister told The Times in July.
The comments offered another glimpse into how Alzheimer’s had affected Roy’s ability to follow his son’s political career and the causes that mattered to him.
A Family Raised in Culcheth
Roy was a former telephone engineer who worked first for the Post Office and later for BT.
He and his wife, Eileen, raised Andy and his two brothers, Nick and John, in Culcheth, Cheshire.
Mr Burnham has previously spoken about his upbringing and the influence of his family, particularly his mother’s Catholic faith.
He attended Catholic schools and has recalled how his father, who was not Catholic, had been nervous about meeting his mother’s family because of the importance of religion in Liverpool at the time.
A photograph taken on July 20 showed Mr Burnham embracing his mother after arriving in Downing Street following his official appointment as Prime Minister by the King.
Burnham Had Run the Great North Run Days Before
The Prime Minister had taken part in the Great North Run on Sunday, joining around 63,000 runners in the half-marathon.
He completed the race in one hour and 57 minutes while raising money for North East charity Changing Lives, which he had visited the previous month as part of a national campaign to tackle rough sleeping.
His official programme had included a Downing Street roundtable with regional mayors, entrepreneurs and business leaders on Monday afternoon, but those engagements were cancelled following his father’s death.
Political Leaders Offer Condolences
The death prompted messages of sympathy from across the political divide.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch expressed her condolences to Mr Burnham and his family, describing the loss of a parent as a profoundly painful experience regardless of age or preparation.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also sent his sympathies, saying his conversations with the Prime Minister had left him with the impression that Roy was “a wonderful man”.
In the House of Commons, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle offered condolences on behalf of MPs and sent his best wishes to the Prime Minister and his family.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell, a close political ally of Mr Burnham, also expressed her “deepest condolences” to the Prime Minister, his mother Eileen, his brothers Nick and John, the grandchildren and the wider family.
